One day while chatting with one of my best gal pals, I went MIA (no, not like the middle finger wielding MIA). I had to apologize and tell her that I had gone ahead and whipped up some lemon bars on a whim. She laughed and asked when the mini van was coming. I assured her NEVER and explained that it all started with this tree. That, my fine friends, is a Meyer’s lemon tree and it’s happily growing in our back yard. Not only does it look pretty, but it yields a very deliciously sweet version of a lemon. Lately, it’s been yielding a lot of lemons and rather than just let them drop to the ground and rot, I figured I need to put these lovely lemons to work.

My mom mentioned that her best gal pal had a really delightful recipe from Barefoot Contessa and so I decided to give it a go. Now, I must warn you… this recipe is a labor of love. It is well worth all of the effort though.

Ingredients (Crust):

1/2 lb unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flower

1/8 tbs kosher salt

Ingredients (Filling):

6 extra large eggs (room temperature)

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tbs lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup all purpose flour

confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

For crust: cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Combine flour and salt and add to the butter until just mixed.

Dump dough onto well floured board and gather into a ball, flatten the dough w/ floured hands and press into a 9x13x2 inch baking sheet, building up a ½ inch edge on all sides.

Chill.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned.

Let cool on wire rack.

Leave oven on.

For the Filling: Whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.

Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is set.